Mercedes pushes back launch of electric SUV until 2021

Mercedes-Benz has rescheduled the US launch of its first mass-market electric vehicle -- an SUV known as the EQC to 2021. The SUV was introduced in Europe earlier this year, and it reportedly "generated high interest", enough so that Mercedes` parent firm Daimler made a "strategic decision to first support the growing customer demand" in Europe, Engadget reported on Tuesday.

The US is the second largest car market in the world after China, but it is only on par with, and sometimes behind, Europe when it comes to sales of all-electric vehicles.

One factor driving the availability of cleaner cars in Europe is the strict emissions regulations package put in place by the European Union (EU), which requires auto makers to reduce the emissions of their new vehicle fleets by 37.5 per cent by 2030.

In contrast, President Donald Trump has spent the bulk of his presidency unsuccessfully trying to roll back Obama-era emissions regulations that are similarly meant to support the adoption of cleaner cars, according to The Verge. Price of Mercedes` EQC base model is expected to begin at $67,900 -- less than the $74,800 Audi E-Tron and the $84,990 Tesla`s Model X.